Keet and the coffee cart

BY SHAKIA COLLINS | STAFF WRITER

Two PLNU students have brewed up their own coffee on campus called Port Coffee. Junior graphic design major, Keet Veylupek along with his roommate and co-owner Nate Weir, a junior business entrepreneurship major, launched their own coffee business in Aug. Veylupek says he hopes to open his own coffee shop in San Diego after he graduates and that having the coffee cart is his “first step to moving in that direction.”

The two work private events including some on the PLNU campus like Musoffee and other ASB activities. This year Port Coffee will be the coffee supplier for every Musoffee event. They also brew coffee out of their room in Wiley Hall for customers. Prices are $2 to $4 because Veylupek said he understands the college student budget.

A staple drink for Port Coffee is its ‘pour over’ hot coffee, which has different origins like Guatemala and Ethiopia according to Veylupek. Another popular choice for customers is the coffee cocktail, a nonalcoholic drink where the alcohol is replaced with coffee. Port Coffee also serves cold brew coffees.

Port Coffee believes it’s different from other coffee business around San Diego like Starbucks and Better Buzz is that it belongs to a division of a type of coffee called specialty and third wave coffee. Third wave refers to a current movement to produce high-quality coffee.

“We put a lot more intentional effort into making sure that everything from farm to cup is organic, ethically sourced, properly paid for, and is not a mass produced coffee,” Veylupek said. Because Port has small-scale roasted coffee, the quality is a much higher grade and they take more time brewing their coffee compared to a normal coffee shop.

Veylupek said, “The goal is to make the best possible cup of coffee, every single time.”

Through this business venture, Veylupek and Weir want to teach their customers that black coffee is not always bitter when you have a fresh cup, it can be fruity and flavorful and as Christian students it is good to be aware of where food and drinks come from.

Veylupek said, “[it is important to] be good stewards of the earth and knowing that coffee is not this magical thing that arrives in your cup.”